Caster

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a caster has a horn having a first side with a first raceway, a second side with a second raceway, and a stem. At least one bearing may be located in the stem and a stem seal is removably positioned to substantially cover the at least one bearing. Also, a wheel assembly has an axle whereby a first end of the axle is positioned within the first raceway and a second end of the axle is positioned in the second raceway. Yet other forms of the invention will be suited for specific applications.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to casters, and more particularly to casters that provide for horn enclosed mechanisms and provide for an enhanced snap fit wheel assembly along with other benefits and features.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Casters of various types are well known in the art. Such devices are typically used in a variety of different ways, such as, for example, they can be mounted in a swivel frame that could be used for the support and movement of furniture, carts, wagons, chairs, tables, desks, cabinets, etc. The frame which swivels is commonly referred to as a horn. A caster wheel is commonly mounted so there is an offset from the horn neck or stem and whereby the wheel rotates and trails behind the horn stem which is mounted to the equipment it is being used for. Since the primary use of a caster is for transportation, equipment is usually pushed or pulled by a person over a variety of surfaces. It is desirable that the caster provides for stability and easy rolling of whatever it is attached to. It is also desirable that the caster is durable and provides an aesthetic appearance. Casters are commonly used in groups of four or five per supported device. They are often customized such as by shape, size, or color to fit a particular application.

However, previous casters have some inherent disadvantages. One of the disadvantages with existing casters is that they do not effectively prevent build-up of foreign material from interfering with the operation of the caster. Casters are sometimes used in an environment where undesirable material is located on the surface or floor and the wheel of the caster may pick up some of this material whereby the material wraps around the axle of otherwise interferes with the bearing. For example, such material may include threads, hair, string, etc. Serious complications to the caster may result whereby the multiple strands of material wrap around the axle and interfere with the operation of the caster and its bearings. Still yet other occurrences are where dirt and debris may enter the bearings and effect the functionality of the bearings.

The present invention overcomes these and other problems inherent in existing caster designs. In one form, the present invention provides a horn having a first side with a first raceway and a second side with a second raceway. The horn further has in one embodiment at least one bearing molded into the stem and whereby a stem seal is easily pressed into position to substantially cover the bearing. Also included is a wheel assembly having an axle where a first end of the axle is positioned within the first raceway and a second end of the axle is positioned in the second raceway. A first and second snap device are located within the raceways to allow for easy assembly of the wheel and axle within the horn whereby a snap fit installation is realized. Further, in one form, the horn covers substantially the entire side surfaces of the wheel assembly to minimize the risk of debris interfering with the operation of the caster. Also included may be a first tread guard and a second tread guard that are positioned on each side of the wheel core and, in one form, are press fit into place to substantially cover the bearing thereby minimizing risk of foreign materials and debris interfering with the operation of the bearing and wheel assembly.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a caster has a horn having a first side with a first raceway, a second side with a second raceway, and a stem. At least one bearing may be located in the stem and a stem seal is removably positioned to substantially cover the at least one bearing. Also, a wheel assembly has an axle whereby a first end of the axle is positioned within the first raceway and a second end of the axle is positioned in the second raceway. Yet other forms of the invention will be suited for specific applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a caster;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the caster of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the caster of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross sectional side view of the caster of FIG. 1 showing the horn and stem bearing;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the caster of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the caster of FIG. 1 shown with the axle without the complete wheel assembly in place;

FIG. 7 shows these views of one form of the wheel assembly of the caster of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a top view of one embodiment of a stem seal;

FIG. 8 a is a side view of the stem seal of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 8 b is a cross-sectional view of the stem seal of FIG. 8 along line A-A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiments in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described some exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification for the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. In this disclosure, the use of the disjunctive is intended to include the conjunctive. The use of the definite article or indefinite article is not intended to indicate cardinality. In particular, a reference to “the” object or “a” object is intended to denote also one of a possible plurality of such objects.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the caster 10. As shown in FIG. 1, one embodiment of caster 10 may include a horn assembly 20, a wheel assembly 65 positioned within horn assembly 20, a stem 29, and a stem seal 40. FIG. 2 shows a side view of one embodiment of caster 10.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of one embodiment of caster 10 whereby caster 10 has a horn assembly 20 having a first side 22, a second side 24, a top portion 26 and stem 29. Further shown in FIG. 3 are one or more bearings 30, a stem seal 40, and wheel assembly 65. In one form, the wheel assembly 65 may include a wheel core 66 having wheel bearing 68, tread 70 encircling wheel core 66, a first thread guard 72 and a second thread guard 74. Bearing 68 may be any commercially available bearing that can be sized for a particular application of caster 10 whereby bearing 30 will allow for proper operation of caster 10. Also shown in FIG. 3 is one embodiment of an axle 80 having a first recess 82, a second recess 84, a first head 86 and a second head 88.

As shown in FIG. 4, in one form of the invention, one or more bearings 30 may be positioned and molded into the horn assembly 20 at the stem 29 portion substantially as shown in FIG. 4 or in yet other embodiments bearing 30 may be positioned in the horn and sized in different variations for a particular application of caster 10. Bearing 30 may be any commercially available bearing that can be sized for a particular application of caster 10 whereby bearing 30 will allow for proper operation of caster 10.

The horn assembly 20 in one embodiment is provided whereby the horn assembly material is comprised of 30% glass filled nylon 6 for a molded clean look design. And for yet other embodiments, other materials, and/or combinations of materials may be used. In one embodiment, the overall design features are for a molded caster design, which provides for a unique clean and uncluttered exterior aesthetic look whereby there are no exposed fastenings or mechanisms on the exterior surfaces of the caster. In one form, the horn assembly 20 covers substantially the entire side and top surface areas of wheel assembly 65 to provide not only an aesthetic look but also to prevent debris and other material from effecting the operation of the caster and wheel assembly. It is understood that this aesthetic look is important in, for example, a professional or design focusing environment while aesthetics in addition to function are desirable.

In one form of the invention as shown in FIGS. 4-6, the caster incorporates elements to provide for an axle 80 to be easily and efficiently press-fit into the horn assembly 20. In this embodiment, one or more inner precision raceways may be included in the horn assembly 20. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, one embodiment of horn assembly 20 may include a first raceway 32, a second raceway 34, a first snap device 36 and a second snap device 38 incorporated in the horn assembly as shown. In other embodiments, the raceways and snap devices may be supplied in different variations and designs to achieve a similar effect. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the snap-devices may be, in one form, triangular shaped protrusions that are positioned within the raceways. In yet other forms, the protrusions can be rounded instead of pointed. They can also be square shaped or another shape for the specific application.

As shown in FIG. 6, in one form, axle 80 may be snap fit into horn assembly 20 whereby a first recess 82 and a first head 86 communicate with a first raceway 32 and a second recess 84 and second head 88 communicate with a second raceway 34 whereby the axle is pushed through the raceways as it encounters a first and second snap device 36, 38 respectively, and whereby the heads 86 and 88 pass the snap devices and removably lock the axle in a place in the horn assembly 20. It is noted that in FIG. 6, the axle is shown without wheel assembly 65 in position around axle 80 for clarity purposes. In use, wheel assembly 65 would be positioned around axle 80 and axle 80 would be snap fit into position as described herein.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, a stem seal 40 may be provided in one embodiment whereby the stem seal 40 may be comprised of glass filled nylon 6 material. And yet in other embodiments, stem seal 40 may be manufactured of a variety of and/or combination of materials to provide for proper operation of caster 10. In one form, stem seal 40 is positioned above bearing 30 and pushed or press-fit into place for ease of installation and to prevent foreign materials and dirt from accumulating within bearings 30.

FIG. 7 has three various views of wheel assembly 65 section A-A along line A-A and shows first thread guard 72 and second thread guard 74 in position over bearing 68. Also shown are wheel core 66 and thread 70. In one form, the first and second thread guards 72 and 74 may be pressed or push-fit into place to cover substantially all of bearing 68 and minimize the amount of foreign material or debris that could enter bearing 68 and interfere with the operation of the wheel assembly. In one form, the wheel thread may be monoprene wheel thread and yet in other forms may be constructed and designed of a variety of other materials for a specific application of the caster.

In one form, the caster 10 may have a dynamic load rating of 120 pounds. Some of the technical specifications may be a 3⅞ inch mounting height and a swivel radius of 2⅞ inch. It is understood that there are a variety of different load ratings as well as achievable dimensions for the overall height, width and depth of the caster and for its various components. It is also understood that there are a variety of different materials and construction designs that may be used for particular applications of caster 10 and for use with specific equipment and specific environments. Caster 10 is easily modified to accommodate for the required features and specification designs.

FIG. 8 shows a plan view of one embodiment of stem seal 40 and FIG. 8-A shows a side view of one embodiment of stem seal 40. FIG. 8 b shows a cross-sectional view of stem seal 40 taken along line A-A of FIG. 8.

Specific embodiments of novel methods and apparatus for construction of novel casters according to the present invention have been described for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the invention is made and used. It should be understood that the implementation of other variations and modifications of the invention and its various aspects will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and that the invention is not limited by the specific embodiments described. Therefore, it is contemplated to cover the present invention any and all modifications, variations, or equivalents that fall within the true spirit and scope of the basic underlying principles disclosed and claimed herein. 

1. A caster comprising; a horn having a first side with a first raceway, a second side with a second raceway, and a stem; at least one bearing located in the stem and a stem seal removably positioned to substantially cover the at least one bearing; and a wheel assembly having an axle whereby a first end of the axle is positioned within the first raceway and a second end of the axle is positioned in the second raceway.
 2. The caster of claim 1 wherein the first raceway has a first snap device and the second raceway has a second snap device which operate to maintain the axle in position with the raceways.
 3. The caster of claim 1 wherein the first and second raceways have a means for holding the axle in position within the horn.
 4. The caster of claim 1 wherein the wheel assembly has a wheel core with a bearing and a tread that is positioned around the parameter of the wheel core.
 5. The caster of claim 4 further comprising a first tread guard and a second tread guard that is positioned on each side of the wheel core and substantially covers the bearing.
 6. The caster of claim 5 wherein each tread guard can be snap fit onto the wheel core.
 7. The caster of claim 1 wherein the bearing is molded into the stem.
 8. The caster of claim 7 wherein the stem seal can be snap fit into position on the stem and substantially covers the bearing.
 9. A caster comprising; a wheel assembly having an axle whereby the axle has a first end and a second end; and a horn having a first raceway for accepting and snap fitting into position the axle first end and a second raceway for accepting and snap fitting into position the axle second end.
 10. The caster of claim 9 wherein the wheel assembly has a wheel core with a bearing and a tread that is positioned around the parameter of the wheel core.
 11. The caster of claim 10 further comprising a first tread guard and a second tread guard that is positioned on each side of the wheel core and substantially covers the bearing.
 12. The caster of claim 11 wherein each tread guard can be snap fit onto the wheel core.
 13. The caster of claim 9 wherein the bearing is molded into the stem.
 14. The caster of claim 13 wherein the stem seal can be snap fit into position on the stem and substantially covers the bearing.
 15. A caster comprising: a horn having a first means for holding, a second means for holding, and a stem having at least one AV bearing; a least one stem seal positioned over the at least one bearing and where the at least one stem seal is press fit into position; a wheel assembly having an axle first end and an axle second end whereby the axle first end communicates with the first means for holding and the axle second end communicates with the second means for holding; said wheel assembly having a wheel core with a bearing and a tread; and a first tread guard and a second tread guard each of which axle press fit onto the wheel assembly.
 16. The caster of claim 15 wherein the first means for holding includes a raceway having a snap fit device and the second means for holding includes a snap fit device.
 17. The caster of claim 1 wherein the bearing is molded into the stem.
 18. The caster of claim 15 wherein the first and second means for holding are molded into the horn.
 19. The caster of claim 16 wherein the first raceway is positioned at a point opposite the second raceway.
 20. The caster of claim 16 wherein the axle has a first head and a second head whereby the first head is positioned in the first raceway and the second head is positioned in the second raceway. 